vog and which subdivisions get it worse.

[lostboystoy]

I know this subject has been covered before, but since the search, is still down.
As I am awaiting the closing on my house here in idaho, we will be coming the first week of Nov. to secure housing. Now whether we buy right away or rent, I would like to find out which subdivisions have the worst vog issues.
I have a blue and gold macaw that wont be able to handle the vog too much and I have asthma.
any advice would be greatly appreciated.
[]


setting my soul free....

[Kelena]

I'm not an expert on this, but I play one on TV so allow me to talk through my lauhala hat. The vog is emitted from two main sources: Pu'u O'o and, more importantly, Halema'uma'u. Both are within the confines of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, to the West of Puna. Generally, the tradewinds blow these emissions and plumes away from Puna. These emissions are blown toward Kau (Pahala etc). They then wrap around Mauna Loa and blow up the Kona Coast.

The worst areas at present are Kau, where the problem is very serious and then the Captain Cook area, right on up to Kona. The vog is not as strong north of Kona because a wind blows over Kamuela and pushes it out to sea. The area around Hawi also has reduced vog, although they can get it, too. The Hamakua coast is relatively vog free as is Puna, oddly, under normal circumstances.

However, when the tradewinds die back, as they tend to do in Winter, the emissions head toward Puna and Hilo (my informal assessment is that they like Hilo better than Puna).

All that said, when the tradewinds are up, Puna has great air in my view. But this is very personal. I know people who are highly sensitive to vog. Their bodies can easily detect the traces that exist even when the trades are blowing. I appear to be less susceptible.

All of this could change at a moment's notice. The current trend is toward extreme vogginess in the patterns describe above. There are little links that show you SO2 readings, but the readings tend to reflect the patterns above. Lately, there have been several die-backs of the trades, making for worsened conditions in Puna. Pray for wind.

As for particular subdivisions, I have no idea, but my guess is that the closer to the coast your subdivision, the less overall vog you will experience...due to the winds. Kapoho usually has great air and sunshine, too.

[aikahimomma]

in the acres we get vog on a kona wind morning ..it blankets my whole 5 acres for an hour or 2, then departs..i call my family on oahu and tell them its coming..then they get it for days..i feel so lucky that i get it for one or two hours at the most and i am 15 miles from the 2 vents...

[Kapohocat]

[8D]The vog seems to float uphill above us in Kapoho most days. Even with Kona winds it takes awhile to pack it in here. Hilo will be worse than us a lot faster because it seems to float right over about Pahoa and into Hilo.

if tradewinds are blowing, no worries at all.

And if you come from LA, or any big city with SMOG, the vog will be barely a blip almost no matter where you are --- until you acclimate... but pretty much by then you will also think Keaau Bypass is a traffic jam, and when the temp gets to 68 deg at night it is "Freezing".....

[kani-lehua]

aikahimomomma has it right. when it's "kona weather" or we have southerly winds, the vog blankets all islands including kailua where i'm at and i think her family is at.

the property that we made an offer on (can't tell you which one yet or the subdivision) apparently had 3 to 4 days of vog that sat on the subdivision? i don't believe that.

"chaos reigns within.
reflect, repent and reboot.
order shall return."

microsoft error message with haiku poetry

[nanasohana]

Craig, the vog happens here in Tiki Gardens once in awhile...in the morning...then it is gone..I suppose on to hilo. But only when the wind is from the SW....but it happens. If we look out and see the vog, we keep the windows closed till about 10 and its usually gone.

[lostboystoy]

Thank you Momma Fryer, and all. Thank Glen, your rather informative, expect us to look you up and pick your brain. Maybe over food and drink.
Nancey hope to get to see you before you go back to the mainland.
Mahalo
Craig[]

setting my soul free....

[Shekelpal]

I seem to be quite effected by it in lower Puna. Actually, the last couple of months, most people I know have been effected in one way or another. Some people who are very high energy may just feel tired, others, cannot seem to get a breath and vomit mucus. Teary, red eyes, sore throats, and runny noses are common. I have a beeper that transmits all the medic and fire calls on the island. The days I was the sickest, there were emergency calls in abundance, mainly for respiratory distress, patient difficulty breathing, patient not feeling well, and chest pains. Many of these calls were to Puna and Hilo. If you have asthma already, maybe be very careful where you live. I didn#699;t have asthma before, but definitely have something that sure mimics the symptoms now, when the vog is bad. I have heard from a few people that the North part of the island is better.

The strong trades have been off this far south for, it seems years. If we get them, for the most part, they are not strong enough to really push the huge cloud of vog away. I have been in Honolulu and could barely stand up because of the strong trades, but at the same time, here - nada. According to the National Park Service, the SO2 is most concentrated closest to the vents. By the time the vog gets to Kona it is a lot of particulate and the SO2 is mostly gone or converted into something else. By far, though, Ka‘u has it the worst.

One other thing I have noticed happening. Sometimes the high clouds will be coming from the East, Southeast or Northeast and the surface winds are strongly from the West or the Southwest. This could be blowing the vog back around this way.

[MarkP]

The volcano is potent enough to envelope the whole state if the wind is from the south. The only thing that saves us in Puna is the tradewinds. My place is in Eden Roc about 5 to 7 miles from Pu'u O'o crater. I can sometimes see the glow from the lava on the undersides of the clouds. However, 99 days out of 100 the air is clear and the only thing to contend with is rain. It is like standing next to a bear that hasn't noticed you yet. As long as he doesn't turn on you you might as well be touching him. I feel nervous in Puna but I truly pity the people in Ka'u, Na'alehu, and the whole coast south of Kona. I do work in Kona twice a month and it is truly shocking to see the dark cloud that hovers overhead. If you look north you see hazy patches of pale blue. Overhead is pale gray. South is dark and disturbing. I can only imagine what it is like in HOVE.

To be fair that means I haven't seen HOVE recently. In the past it has been hazy but not too bad.

Hawi and Kohala are beautiful and pristine but on a south wind day nothing can save you. I flew from Hilo to Honolulu a few months back on such a day. Vog blanketed the whole state. It was almost IFR getting into Honolulu although to be fair that was partly because of some low clouds. The worst point of the whole flight was crossing Upolu Point near Hawi. The best part was in Hilo where it was basically clear that day.

[MarkP]

Did I kill this thread with my dark and sinister description? I got carried away. The main points I was trying to make were as follows:

99 days out of 100, Puna is essentially clear, much better than Ka'u, Na'alehu, HOVE, etc.

1 day out of 100, it doesn't matter where you are in the state.